Is It So Black & White?
They say Hip-Hop is a Revolution
but there is a difference between glorifying where we come from & ignoring where we are.
Free speech, self-expression all that Hip-hop is not necessarily planned. It's from the heart & its spontaneous & thats why its called Flowing.
Michael Brown died after robbing a convenience store & having an altercation with a white police officer.
Nicki Minaj is now being blasted for saying,
“I feel like when Public Enemy were doing ‘Fight the Power,’ we as a culture had more power – now it feels hopeless. People say, ‘Why aren’t Black celebrities speaking out more?’ But look what happened to Kanye when he spoke out. People told him to apologize to Bush,” Nicki stated. “He was the unofficial spokesman for hip-hop, and he got torn apart. And now you haven’t heard him speaking about these last couple things, and it’s sad.”
Read more here: AllHipHop.com
“We got all these Black athletes, Black rappers, all these one-percents, record label owners, CEOs – that’s not saying nothing, that’s not bringing nothing to the community. You’re bleeding the community dry,” St. Louis Hip Hop artist/activist T-Dubb-O told Rolling Stone. “The shoes we buy, the clothes we buy, the music we play, the videos we watch. You glorify being from the hood, but do nothing for it. You glorify being from the trenches. but do nothing for it. When they’re killing us, you stand by silent.”
What do you think? Is an entertainer supported by a community obligated to that community to speak out on their issues? If we made songs about fighting the power & civil rights would you bump them???
In the meantime..
Stuart Scott, longtime ESPN anchor, died today and hip-hop paid tribute through social media.
Read More Here: HipHopDX.com
Stuart Scott said, “I like infusing [hip-hop] into what I do, because it’s part of who I am," he said at the time. "You’ve got to be true to who you are and what you do. I’m more of a hip-hop feel person. Music is how you feel. The younger the mind, that’s how I wanna be. One of the reasons why I do my job the way I do it is because I want to let people know it does not have to be the way society says it has to be."
This man, though not a Hip-Hop artist, incorporated his background & his experience into his job so seamlessly that he became an icon & spokesperson in his own right.
Is it the place of Entertainers to speak on social issues? When they do, they are often blasted for it. Hip-hop is infamous for vague misunderstood one-line references & punches.
Is that how we should speak on the issues? Is it social media?
I don't know the answers, but I know Hip-Hop is listening. As artists & free agents, we don't feel the need to address everything or anything directly.
However, you will never catch us biting our tongue. I look forward to a day where free speech really means free speech, NO HATE allowed by either party.
But in the meantime, I will say...
UNJUSTIFIED POLICE VIOLENCE IS WRONG
HIP-HOP IS A WAY OF LIFE & EXPRESSION
FREEDOM OF SPEECH is also FREEDOM TO NOT SPEAK
When music fans support political songs & artists, those songs will multiply. When freedom of speech will not incite hate but dialogue, Entertainers will feel more free to speak on social issues without the cloak of metaphors.
In the meantime, Let's Party...
Here's MISS LADY SHADOW's own political girl power Anthems...
GIRLS GONE WI-FI
HIT THE POLE
And here is the lesson...Whether you agree with my message or find what I do empowering or not, it's my freedom of expression. If you listen closely you will hear my
Truth.
Let the (R)Evolution begin.
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